Authorities say blaze south of the city is under control after homes were lost around Keysbrook
A blaze that destroyed two homes south of Perth has been brought under control, but firefighters are urging people to remain vigilant for bushfire threats.
Seven emergency-level bushfires have engulfed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs on Perth’s fringes in the past three days.
Continue reading...NSW SES warns heavy rain may cause flash flooding with storms forecast across three states from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day
Residents of Australia’s eastern states have been warned to prepare for severe storms forecast over the Christmas weekend.
Thunderstorms are expected between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day across a broad region, including much of New South Wales and south-east Queensland and spreading down into Victoria.
Continue reading...The weather bureau has issued an extreme fire danger warning for the Burrup district on Saturday
Firefighters on Saturday continued to battle multiple blazes across Western Australia as authorities warn of more “difficult” days ahead.
Seven emergency-level blazes have destroyed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs on Perth’s fringes in the past three days.
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Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia
Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.
The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.
On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.
Continue reading...Fate of more than a dozen islands ‘hangs in the balance’ because of climate crisis, with vexed questions about maritime jurisdiction
More than a dozen of Australia’s coral islands that help to extend the country’s maritime jurisdiction are at high risk of disappearing because of climate change, according to a study.
The fate of the low-lying islands now “hangs in the balance”, said the scientist who led the study, with rising sea levels, marine heatwaves, intensifying weather systems and ocean acidification compounding the risk.
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‘Climate change a threat to people’s health as well as to our environment,’ Albanese says amid heatwave
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney, prime minister Anthony Albanese said the current heatwave is “a reminder that there just might be something in this climate change stuff”.
We have experienced 2023 as the hottest year on record. We continue to break these records, and that’s why my government’s determined to act on climate change.
Today, with the high heat levels, I do say that it’s a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe.
We need to have our migration levels brought to a sustainable level and we will be releasing details of that this week.
Continue reading...Environmental lawyers concerned Nopsema has not published its reasons for approving work at Scarborough gas development
Environmental lawyers have raised concern the offshore petroleum regulator is attempting to avoid scrutiny by not publishing its reasons for approving seismic blasting and drilling for a major fossil fuel development in northern Western Australia.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) granted approval for seismic testing and drilling of up to 10 wells for Woodside’s $16.5bn Scarborough gas development last Friday.
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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.
Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.
We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.
Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.
Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.
Continue reading...Residents warned not to return to fire-affected area as bureau forecasts wind gusts of up to 80 km/h and 39C heat
Firefighters battling a blaze that has destroyed 18 homes in Perth’s outer northern suburbs will face extreme weather conditions across the weekend.
Wind gusts of up to 80 km/h and temperatures of 39C are forecast in Perth by the Bureau of Meteorology, with the fire danger also rated as extreme in parts of the city on Saturday.
Continue reading...Authorities say it will take at least another three to four days to bring blaze in city’s north-east under control
The number of homes an out-of-control bushfire has destroyed in metropolitan Perth has been revised up to 18, as firefighters prepare for a weekend of scorching temperatures.
The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, returned from a trade mission to China on Friday and toured the fire grounds.
Continue reading...Former Liberal staffer’s defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson continues in the federal court. Follow the day’s news live
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has said the government is yet to decide how to best consult with First Nations people after the loss of the Indigenous voice referendum.
Burney was on RN Breakfast earlier and said today’s Closing the Gap meeting, the first since the referendum, would focus on the silver linings from the loss.
What we have seen is a group of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get involved in the political process.
We had 6 million Australians say yes. And the thing that really excited me about the outcome in places like the Tiwi Islands, where … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanted this change. And those votes are really important.
Education is the most powerful cause for good in this world, that is where you learn.
If you want to protest, do it on the weekend. School is on, we expect them to be there.
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Hostage release essential if truce to last, Paterson says
Rewinding to Liberal MP James Paterson’s appearance on RN Breakfast this morning, wheN he said more needs to be done to free the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.
We don’t know how many of them are still alive, and their continued release would be essential for any continuing ceasefire because otherwise Israel continues to have a legitimate military objective.
Continue reading...Western Australian government declines to say whether Roger Cook’s claims backed by publicly available government or third-party analysis
The Western Australian government has produced no evidence to back up a claim that expanding the state’s gas industry – and increasing its greenhouse gas pollution in the short term – will be good for the planet as it will lead to a “dramatic reduction” in global emissions.
The premier, Roger Cook, made the claim at a media conference on Thursday. Cook made similar arguments at a WA energy transition summit on Friday, when speakers including the federal resources minister, Madeleine King, backed the development of new gas reserves alongside renewable energy and critical minerals.
Continue reading...Grattan Institute says Australia’s regional roads are a ‘dangerous disgrace’ due to paltry federal funding
Regional Australian roads have become a “dangerous disgrace”, according to a new report that warns they will get worse due to paltry funding that favours cities and forces poorer regional councils to waste repair money erecting signs in tribute to government grants.
In a new report, the Grattan Institute has found that roads across the country have become riddled with potholes and other hazards because inadequate federal and state government funding has left councils under-resourced and without sufficient knowledge or data to maintain the roads they are responsible for.
Continue reading...Residents of Wooroloo told they could return to normal activity following earlier lockdown but urged to ‘remain vigilant’
A Western Australian community has spent several hours in lockdown and a man has been taken into custody after an alleged shooting on the outer fringes of Perth.
On Saturday morning, WA Police said officers responded to a “firearm incident” in the township of Wooroloo, about 45km from Perth.
Continue reading...Rainfall is expected to fall on Saturday either side of the border after a torrid week of fires claimed more than 60 homes
Communities across Australia’s east coast are hoping a wet weekend will bring a reprieve to firefighters as rainfall starts to set in across New South Wales and Queensland.
But the bushfire threat has arisen in the west as parts of Western Australia experience extreme fire risk with threats to properties south of Perth.
Continue reading...Homicide squad detectives have charged a 42-year-old man with murder after a woman in her 30s was found dead
A man has been charged with murder over the death of a woman whose body was found in a luxury hotel room in Perth’s casino precinct.
Emergency services were called to Crown Towers east of the Perth CBD about 11am on Monday, where the woman in her 30s was found dead.
Continue reading...WA Corruption and Crime Commission report finds Cameron Blaine shared sensitive case details with 22-year-old woman
One of the detectives who rescued kidnapped girl Cleo Smith leaked sensitive information about the case to a young journalist he was in a relationship with, a corruption watchdog has found.
Former Det Snr Sgt Cameron Blaine was among the officers who found the four-year-old at abductor Terence Kelly’s home in northern Western Australia on 3 November 2021.
Continue reading...Australians are grieving for those killed on both sides of Israel-Hamas war, Adam Bandt tells protesters
About 15,000 people have attended a rally supporting Palestine in Melbourne, with the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, telling the crowd they were mourning for those who had died on both sides of the bloody conflict.
Sunday’s protest was one of several held across the country at the weekend. Victoria police said that there were “no major incidents of note”.
Continue reading...Protesters marched through the Sydney CBD on Saturday after police green-lit the event, with similar rallies held in Perth, Hobart and Brisbane
Pro-Palestine protesters declared they were standing on the right side of history, marching for justice and humanity, as they turned out in their thousands at rallies across Australia on Saturday.
Thousands marched through the Sydney CBD on Saturday after police green-lit the event, with rallies also held in Perth, Hobart and Brisbane as more information emerges from conflict-stricken Gaza.
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